William Cobb
Professional
William R. Cobb, is a successful business Executive, Entrepreneur, Author and Speaker who moved to Colorado to join the newly created US West in 1985. Over the course of his career, he has held such challenging assignments as Executive Vice President for a communications equipment company, Regional Vice President of a communication services company, President of US West Federal Communications Systems, and Vice President and General Manager of U S West Communication’s Large Business and Government Services Division. He moved on to become President and CEO of a technology startup company and led the strategic planning activities for a telecommunications infrastructure firm. More recently, he served as Managing Director of North American Operations for CH2M HILL’s Communications Group. In each of his assignments Bill quickly became recognized as the “go to” leader for expanding market share and accelerating revenue growth. His success in this area followed him from assignment to assignment, earning him the nickname of “Dollar Bill.” He currently volunteers as a business coach for the Northern Colorado entrepreneurial community and has provided advice and support for Small Business Development efforts and the “Venture Jump Start” program at C.S.U.’s Entrepreneurial Institute. In addition to his professional assignments, Bill has served as a member of the Colorado Commission for Space Science and Industry, and multiple roles as both an officer and as a board member for the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. Bill has been recognized in America’s registry of outstanding professionals, and listed with the International Association of Speaker Bureaus. He is the author of “Targeted Tactics – Transforming Strategy into Measurable Results,” and co-author with M. L. Johnson, Ed.D., Ph.D. of “Business Alchemy: Turning Ideas into Gold.”
INTRODUCTION
Work History
Founder & Managing Director
Targeted Tactics, LLC (April 1, 2006 - December 31, 2022)
Founded Targeted Tactics, LLC, a management consulting firm to share acquired knowledge and experience with evolving companies and to encourage established firms to approach their planning efforts on an integrated basis. Authored “Targeted Tactics – How Strategy Transforms into Measurable Results.” Co-author of “Business Alchemy: Turning Ideas into Gold.”
Managing Director
CH2M Hill Communications Group (January 1, 2001 - January 31, 2006)
Responsible for the profit & loss of operations across the North American Region. Principal responsibilities included Business Development, Engineering & Design, Teaming Agreements, Proposal Development, Pricing Strategies, Customer Presentations, Contracting and Negotiations, Delivery & Mobilization, Execution and Close Out of Multiple Projects. • Re-established business development efforts by leveraging the organization’s presence in the Wireless communications environment and the Federal Government Market. Brought more than $1Billion of new opportunities to the company, resulting in $100M++ in new contracts. • Established CH2M HILL Communications Group with the Information Technology System Integrators in the Federal Market providing opportunities for CH2M HILL to participate in larger, longer term, more profitable programs. (Currently “teamed” on Billions of dollars of new programs). • Grew revenues 1500% to $40M+ in three years while consistently reducing operating costs and restoring profitability. • Contracted and participated in the “Task Force CCSP” project for the renovation and restoration of the Command & Control Systems at the Pentagon necessary because of the damage caused by the attack on September 11th
President & C.E.O.
PetroNet Corporation (January 1, 1999 - December 31, 2000)
Created the business plan, technology plan, and operating model for this first of its kind dynamic bandwidth network. Responsibilities included: Business Planning, Financial Modeling, Technology Planning, Systems Planning, Right-of-Way Arrangements, and Partnership Agreements. • Created business planning documents, negotiated seed financing arrangements and right-of-way for the establishment of the PetroNet “Dynamic Bandwidth” business model. • Negotiated teaming arrangements with technology partners that included engineering and design, marketing support, and financing arrangements. • Worked with a major investment banking firm to develop and market a $450M private placement document to support the launch of the business model. • Discontinued the operation and “shelved” the business plan at the start of the down turn of the communications industry, saving potential investors millions of dollars. “Put” the equity interest back to our right-of-way partners, retuned un-used seed capital funding to the investors.
President & C.E.O.
Infinitec Communications (March 1, 97 - March 31, 2000)
Recruited by the outside investors to development this early stage company’s product plan, business model, and financing requirements. Led the organization in developing its engineering & design capability, material supply chain, manufacturing capacity, and distribution. • Successfully raised three rounds of financing to fund early stage development and product launch. • Establish manufacturing and distribution relationships that supported the first $10M of product shipments • Promoted Company’s product through a series of articles in Telephony and Outside Plant Magazines. • Grew organization from the initial 3 founders to over 100 associates and became recognized as Oklahoma’s most promising new venture.
Vice President & G.M.
US West Communications (January 1, 1987 - December 31, 1995)
Managed a $1.2 Billion Division with 3,500 associates responsible for: Product Planning and Deployment, Sales and Distribution, Customer Care, Billing & Settlements, Service Delivery, and Quality Assurance. Corporate responsibilities included membership on the Strategic Business Council, Transition Oversight Committee, fiduciary for Employee Benefit Plans, and oversight of various subsidiary operations. • Created US West Communications Federal Services, Inc. to participate in competitive Government contracting procurements. Successfully won $500M of new work for the firm, including some of the largest competitive contracts ever awarded to the company. Hanford $47M; Los Alamos $76M; Oakridge $110M. • Successfully launched a new line of data communications products into the business market by leveraging existing distribution channels. Product line grew from $0 revenues to $100M in three years. • Re-aligned sales and distribution channels to reflect vertical markets to better serve customer specific needs and requirements. At a time when new competitors were entering the market, and threatening our installed base, we were able to grow the business double digits. • Led business office consolidation efforts in support of Federal Government requirements, established WHCA, Nets, and NSEP contact processes & procedures, and implemented TSP requirements across the region. • Re-structured benefit administration efforts to slow the accelerating cost of employee medical services. Successfully introduced a review committee to evaluate claim and dispute issues equitably. Reduced the number of unreasonable claims saving the organization over $10M • Served as a member of the Board for the Advanced Technologies Organization and contributed to the prioritization of systems design and re-engineering efforts. Led a portion of the re-engineering effort that consolidated the three operating telephone companies processing and provisioning activities.
Regional Vice President
US West Information Systems (August 1, 1985 - January 1, 1987)
Responsible for the consolidation and integration of four separate subsidiaries into a single sales, service and distribution organization. Focused product and service offering to capture highest growth segments of the market and negotiated new volume pricing supply contracts. Established branch offices and ware housing across the 14 State Region to support the growth of the new business. • Organization was successful and grew from $35M to $120M within 3 years, and was absorbed back into the parent organization after the FCC Computer Inquiry III ruling. • This distribution organization was recognized by Sales & Marketing Magazine as the Number One (#1) marketing sales organization in the industry.
Executive Vice President
Executone, Inc. (January 1, 1982 - June 30, 1985)
Responsible for the acquisition, integration, and operation of distribution organizations to form and grow a direct marketing channel for Executone products and services. Directed acquisition studies and the due diligence process for potential properties, and presented recommendations to senior management for consideration. Restructured accounting and reporting requirements upon acquisition to insure visibility into newly acquired entities. • Acquired 52 profit centers in 15 major markets over the course of three years. • Grew newly acquired entities from inception, ($0) to a $100M operating arm of the company • Enabled Executone to not only sustain its revenue growth, but improve the quality of services in support of their product line. • Executone grew from $40M to $240M during this 5 year period, and was sold for a profit. Prior to assuming the role of Executive Vice President, I held the position of Vice President, Distributor Relations, where I managed the relationship of 130 independent distributors for Executone. We created a captive financing company to provide them with working capital, and created support tools, (installation manuals, etc.) to improve their operations.
Education
Business Administration, Maanagement
State Univerity of New York
1972 - 1975
Publications
Targeted Tactics: Transforming Strategy into Measurable Results (June 1, 2007)
In recent decades the need to constantly update a company’s marketing strategy has been considered vital in order for a company to survive and thrive. The building blocks of that strategy were marketing and sales master plans, generally conceived at the top and aimed downward at the marketplace. But in recent years, as a global economy has become increasingly diverse, complex, and ever changing—problems have often emerged in the EXECUTION of these grand strategies. Businesses have often stumbled in the gap between grand strategy and measurable results. This gap, between the plan and the performance is an arena well known to William R. ($Bill) Cobb, the author of the new book: TARGETED TACTICS. In fact Mr. Cobb has spent most of his professional life in middle management, or to quote the author: “in the middle ground within an enterprise where ‘the rubber meets the sky’ and ‘the rubber meets the road’ collide.” This is a book in which airy sales strategies are translated into on the ground tactics that produce real results.
Business Alchemy, Turning Ideas into Gold (June 18, 2012)
For at least 2,500 years before empiricists turned alchemy into the chemistry of atoms, neutrons, protons and electron, the ancients sought to turn base metals into gold. If “Your tomorrows will be much like today, except for the places you visit, the people you meet and the books you read,” then, by simply studying this book, your future can be different from your past! As we use maps to plan routes to our destinations, this book is a traveler’s map to career improvement – a guide to fulfilling your entrepreneurial dreams of business idea commercialization and for making the world a better place. Many have traveled the route from idea to commercialization ahead of you, and they serve as guides for success. For example, having completed his physics degree and added a law degree during America’s Great Depression, Chester F. Carlson was married and living hand-to-mouth in New York City. He systematically made notes about problem solutions, including how to make better copies of the patent applications he typed and re-typed at his employer’s law firm. Analyzing patent applications, it occurred to him that inventing something could improve his own financial situation and perhaps do some good for the world. His patent for electrostatic photography was granted in 1942 and was commercialized two decades later – as the Xerox process. There are multitudes of idea commercialization examples, from Carlson’s billon dollar solution to the problem of reproducing dry paper copies to Muhammad Yunus’ solution to the cyclical Third World poverty problem. Yunus was privileged to have earned a doctorate in economics from Vanderbilt University before returning to teach in a Bangladesh University. However, seeing the effects of his country’s dire poverty, where people would quietly die of starvation on city doorsteps, he was moved to action in 1974 – creating what is now known as micro-lending. While traditional banks were not interested in loaning small amounts of money to villagers, Yunus’ Grameen Bank started by providing a loan of $25.00 to 43 women to build and sell bamboo furniture – money loaned from his own pocket. The idea of micro-lending at the Grameen Bank has now grown past $7 billion to some 8 million borrowers; also earning Yunus a 2006 Nobel Peace Prize – all from the idea of loaning small amounts of money to enable people to become economically self-sufficient. The Invention Tree has already been well picked of its low hanging fruit. However, there are plenty of inventions to be created by those who are informed and observant. For example, George H. Sweigert experience as a radio operator during WW II sparked his interest in work to improve various types of antennae, signal frequencies and different types of radios. Sweigert diligently studied the careers of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Samuel Morse and Albert Einstein; noting that although Bell lectured on electrically reproducing sound waves, he missed the opportunity to invent a portable radio telephone – though Sweigert initially thought a pocket telephone’s use would be limited to a convenience of the elderly and handicapped. Sweigert’s 1969 patent for the cordless telephone was the invention gateway for today’s multibillion dollar wireless phone/video industry. This book will guide you through the idea to commercialization maze – identifying processes and resources for both entrepreneuring services and products. The information that you get and skills that you develop will provide the insider-level confidence needed to make informed decisions about ideas and commercialization. Along the way you will hear nay-sayers deride your idea and your abilities; against which your extensive research, meticulous planning and undaunted persistence will prevail. Remember that most nay-sayers are just acquaintances who would be embarrassed of their own laziness when you are successful. You may have heard of the “Crab Basket Phenomenon;” where one crab could easily scamper out of a wooden basket, but adding more crabs prevent any from escaping because they lock each other down with vice-grip pincers. Stay away from the crabs in your life! The road from idea to commercialization is not without risk, and many fall by the wayside. However, preparation, for either a vacation trip or a business venture, raises the probability of success. Additionally, there are many good, honest and energetic people who want involvement in an early stage start-up – people who can help you in the venture. If you are willing to learn the entrepreneurism basics and devote time and energy to applying these basics to your business idea, you have good probability of success. “If you are willing to do what others are unwilling to do now, you will be able to do things later that they are incapable of doing.” History is replete with examples of success for the inquisitive and persistent. Alexander Graham Bell was a tinkerer, a small-time experimenter and elocution teacher, but he beat well funded labs in patenting the telephone in 1876 – combining the words for “distance” and “sound” for “telephone.” This book is an entrepreneur’s map for idea commercialization, from the guides who has traveled the road several times. The lead author is a serial entrepreneur, an executive who has successfully moved ventures from idea to commercialization and now serves as mentor to various early-stage projects. Our review of the present offerings from major bookstores revealed that no single title publication integrated the idea with concept validation, the business plan, marketing analysis, financing, management team building, business growth and exit options. The value to you, the reader, is that Business Alchemy: Turning Ideas into Gold is a single guide source to assist you with your new venture start up.